


Contract

by Mikii



Category: Ava's Demon
Genre: Alternate Universe - Supernatural Elements, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-12
Updated: 2017-11-12
Packaged: 2019-02-01 08:44:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,700
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12701400
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mikii/pseuds/Mikii
Summary: Five years ago, Ava Ire made a contract with a demonic entity. Now, with the help of a snarky Reaper, a judgmental Exorcist and a bitchy ghost she's hoping to escape the fate of her soul being damned for all eternity.[On hiatus]





	1. Five Years

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Originally a oneshot inspired upon the fact Michelle said Odin would be a “reaper” in a supernatural setting, but then I kept getting ideas so now it's become some sort of entire story.
> 
> I estimate it to be 13 chapters as it currently stands planned out but that could change since I'm also half-winging this. 
> 
> This is an Ava/Odin fanfiction as well but don't expect that to be happening anytime soon.

 

Everything hurt.

Ava sat limply on the swing in the darkness, the only light coming from a flickering street lamp nearby the road. She pressed her face against the chain links in a desperate attempt for the cool metal to ease the pain in her swelling cheek.

Everything hurt so much.

Blood was still dribbling from her nose and when she coughed again it was a wet noise accompanied by the taste of iron in her mouth. Her eyes felt heavy as she tried to fight against closing them but… it felt so nice to give in and sleep here. It didn’t matter that she was a young child in a park at night and that it was winter and below freezing temperatures – falling asleep right now felt so alluring and would be a welcome escape from the numbing pain throughout her body.

She’d get up soon so… just a few minutes of shut-eye-

“Oh dear.”

The child’s eyes reopened at the sound of a warm voice, lifting her gaze to find a young man peering down at her with eyes full of pity. 

“…Such a young child,” he whispered more to himself than her before he offered a gentle smile and held out his hand, “but don’t worry, it’s going to be okay now. Just take my hand and-“

He vanished.

Or, perhaps it would be more precise to say the gentleman was shoved aside by some invisible force. The moment he landed on the floor he disappeared out of sight and Ava was left alone once again.

…but then she felt the warm breath against the back of her neck.

She tensed, heart thudding louder as _something_ hot and heavy pressed against her back, burning the skin through her clothes and sharp claws pressing into her shoulders.

 _“It doesn’t have to end like this,”_ the voice promised, tantalising and seductive as its words filtered into her ears. “ _Not yet... You can still live, Ava Ire… live and take vengeance on the worthless scum who did this to you. Doesn’t that sound favourable compared to dying all alone in a filthy place like this?”_

Ava tried to speak, but only blood left her lips in a garbled response.

A clawed hand stroked through her hair, pulling too roughly to be called gentle as the voice hissed on. _“I shall grant you revenge upon the scum who did this so they too may feel the pain they bequeathed upon you in tenfold. You’ll be free.”_

Free. She’d never considered being able to achieve that.

_“I'll permit you five years to experience the new life you seek.... and when the time is up I will return to collect my payment.”_

Payment?

 _“Your soul,”_  it added as if reading her thoughts, claws tapping her shoulders. “ _What do you say… Do you wish to continue living? To be granted freedom from this abusive life?”_

Tears fell down her face as she swallowed, trying desperately to speak but no words would come. The best she could manage was a pathetically weak nod. She didn’t want to die. Not like this. Not now. She wanted to be free and have a caring and loving family who took her on outings and make friends who would miss her when she wasn’t there.

She wanted it so much it hurt.

The claws pierced the skin of her bare shoulders as the entity behind her chuckled before it suddenly it was in front of her, its blinding fiery image burning her eyes and taking up her entire vision as it grinned at her with jagged teeth and glowing eyes. Despite the frigid January temperatures, Ava felt like she was scalding.

_“We have a deal.”_

It held out its hand, its skin alight like fire and claws stained red on its sharp tips with her blood. Somehow, Ava managed to find the strength to raise her hand and accept the demons offer. The moment their hands grasped one another a scorching pain flared from her palm and shot through her body until it exploded within her chest. Ava screamed as her vision went white and the pain took over.

_“You have five years…_

_…then your soul will be mine, Ava Ire.”_

. - . - .

 

 

Walking down the length of the sidewalk, Ava pulled the hood of her jacket further over her head as the rain began coming down heavier. The water had already seeped into her trainers and soaked the bottom half of her jeans with each step forward earning a squelch from her wet socks. The weather hadn't said anything about rain, if she'd known she would have brought an umbrella. Oh well, at least she wouldn't catch a cold. Even whilst walking outside in the heavy downpour she felt abnormally warm despite her clothes being soggy.

She hadn't felt cold in five years.

Noting a large puddle ahead in her path she crossed the street to avoid it. She was just about to turn a corner when she heard the skidding of wheels behind her. Snapping her head around, Ava watched wide-eyed as a car lost control and veered off the road and into the wall of an office building with a sickening crash.

Exactly where the puddle had been.

Almost instantly there was a clamour of screams and the slamming of breaks as other vehicles came to a halt. People were rushing towards the crashed vehicle, staring and pointing from windows, one woman nearby pulling out her phone to ring the emergency services as Ava stood there and watched numbly.

If she hadn't crossed the road-

Her hand clenched over her chest before she realised and dropped it quickly. People were still coming out of nearby buildings, with others grouping around the car where the man behind the wheel lay unresponsive.

Her attention was caught by a young man who strode over to join the group, dressed in ragged and torn clothing as he managed to meander through the crowd without miraculously touching any of them. Ava watched as he moved to crouch on the bonnet of the car and reach his hand in towards the driver through the broken windshield. A moment later he was pulling the driver out from the car through the front window and onto the bonnet of the car and yet none of the crowd reacted. The driver looked down at himself in wonder, no doubt amazed at how he had suffered no injuries whatsoever before then looking down into the car at which point- yep, he was screaming.

Ava watched for a few more moments before ducking away around the corner and hurrying off. The sound of sirens grew louder as an ambulance passed by her on her way.

It took her only another five minutes to reach her dorm, she slid into her room and peeled off her clothing which she dumped in a wet pile in the corner of her room. Stepping into the shower, she turned the dial to freezing and allowed the water to rain down on her.

She still didn't feel cold.

Afterwards, she threw some sweatpants and an old t-shirt on before returning to her room. She was in the midst of towel-drying her hair when the other person spoke up from her bed.

“H-Hey.”

She scowled, throwing him a dark look as she finished off her hair. “What are _you_ doing here again?” When she was done with it she threw the wet towel at him and went to grab a hairbrush as she stood in front of the mirror.

He tilted his head aside so the towel sailed past him. “I-I saw you on the street… wh-whilst taking  care of that guy.”

“He didn’t look too happy.”

“W-Would you if you j-just found out you were d-d-dead?”

“I thought I _was_ dead,” she retorted as she tugged the bristles through her hair, wincing at the abrasive way she pulled at her own roots, “or at least, by your guys standards I apparently am.”

Being told by a mysterious elder stranger that you were meant to die and shouldn’t be alive when you were only a child was quite a mentally scarring event. Thankfully she didn’t see Olai around very often.

No, instead she found herself followed around by his younger brother Odin instead. He was less likely to make her feel depressed and have an existential crisis unlike Olai, but he was still an asshole in his own way – it seemed to run in the family.

“Y-You were meant to die y-years ago.” Yep, an asshole. “Everyone h-has their own time of death,” Odin tried to meet her reflected gaze in the mirror but she stubbornly ignored him, “you b-broke the rules.”

“Yeah… Well if I’d known breaking the rules would have got me stuck with _you_ I would have reconsidered,” she muttered. There were a lot of things she wished she’d known before making a deal with a demon but time hadn’t exactly been on her side what with her being minutes away from death. No, instead she got to find out all the fun repercussions afterwards.

“Y-You think I want this?” Odin replied, looking annoyed and stretching out an arm to gesture to her and her room, “I-I have a… a set l-list of souls I have to reap… a-and your name is on there but I can’t t-take it because you decided to g-give it away to some demon!”

She scowled, glaring at him in the mirror.

“B-But because you were on the c-cusp of death when you _did_ give it away, you’re s-still classed as being in the "listed" period and so your name i-is still on my list. B-By regulations that means I _have_ to supervise you and be ready t-to take your soul when you f-finally do die… e-even though we all know when that does happen, i-it’ll just go to a demon instead! M-My reaping quota is permanently s-set at "insufficient" a-all because you’re on my list b-but I can’t do anything about it!”

Ava rolled her eyes. She’d heard him complain about this for years on end. Whenever he got stressed he'd come and use her as a means to vent which was typically at least once a month or so. She already had _her_ time of the month complete with hormonal imbalance, she didn't need his emotional baggage too.

“I-I can’t even book holidays off b-because you need to have a-a blank list to do that!”

He was like an annoying yappy dog. She knew more about Reaper Regulations than she’d care to know. When Odin wasn’t off supervising some other unfortunate on his list who was scheduled to kick the bucket sometime soon, he was stalking her for set periods of time because he apparently "had to". And because her soul was frozen in some “near death” status or however his guys defined it, it also meant she had the ability to see his kind and other souls – an ability usually reserved for humans in their last moments of living.

She hated her life.

Her life had meant to improve after she made the deal with a demon. It was meant to be that after her abusive family were out of the way, she’d find a new loving one instead and make friends and have sleepovers and spend her final years laughing and enjoying life surrounded by those who cared about her.

…So much for all of that. The nearest thing to a friend she had was Odin and she didn’t even like the guy.

With a sigh Ava took to playing songs on her laptop, the loud rock girl band types that Odin hated so she knew it would successfully get rid of him. Even though he had to “supervise” her, he was only obligated to check up on her a few times a day and even then it could be at a distance – he only interacted with her when he was bored or wanted to annoy her.

When Odin successfully left with a grimace at her music choice and vanished out the window – four stories up but like that cared to his kind – Ava looked at her reflection. Fingers played with the material of her shirt for a moment before she finally raised it to display her full torso. The inflamed marks on her skin had spread further across her chest like red lightning bolts, all stemming off the key-hole shaped burn mark beneath her clavicle.

Her fingers brushed against the mark, it felt hot.

Her lips pressed tightly together, chewing the inside of her mouth as she eventually dropped her hand and tugged the over-sized shirt back down. It had only become inflamed like that over the past few weeks.

She was just about to leave for the kitchen to get some food when her laptop decided to skip the current song mid-play for another one which wasn’t even in her playlist – in fact, had she even got this song at all in her library? It wasn’t her kind of thing.

Walking over she noted the name of the song.

“'Your Soul is Mine'… ironic,” she drawled, putting it down to Odin. She skipped the song to something more her melody before turning around to leave the room.

Three steps later the laptop skipped back.

“…”

She turned back around to regard the laptop warily, hand fisting into the shirt over her chest which suddenly felt much hotter.

“…Odin?” Was he somehow here and messing with her? She was supposedly able to see him even when he was unseen and intangible to humans but maybe there was something she didn’t know.

However, there was no sight of the Reaper. The only response she received was the sudden flutter of paper as the calendar upon her wall flipped several pages forward. July, August, September, October, Nov-

“!!”

Ava jumped when it spontaneously combusted into flames and stared for five seconds of panic before she grabbed a glass of juice from her desk and rushed forward to throw the contents over the thing.

Breathing heavily, the fire at least seemed to have been dampened, however Ava then noted the month the calendar had flipped to. Her heart constricted as she noted that somehow the entire page had burned away save for the month name and one single date.

January 3rd.

_“We have a deal.”_

Ava’s chest burned even hotter to the point it was painful as tears sprung to her eyes.

_“You have five years…”_

Cruel mocking laughter echoed in her ear as she gaspingly clutched at her chest.

_“…Then your soul will be mine.”_

When her head turned, she could have sworn she saw a pair of fire-fuelled eyes staring at her from the mirror before it cracked.

**“Ava Ire.”**

The voice sounded as if directly behind her.

**"Time's almost up."**

She felt a scorching pain explode from her back before she fainted.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Fun Tidbit: The song playing was 'Your Soul Is Mine' by Mushroomhead, a track in one of the Saw films.
> 
> Feedback is appreciated even if it's just a keysmash, lets me know you guys like the story and motivates me to write more!!


	2. Dawdler

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Odin hated being a Reaper.

Odin shoved his hands into his pockets as he walked down the street in the dark. When he peered behind him, he noted how neither he nor his companion left footsteps in the snow.

They had no lasting presence in this world.

“Have you got your list?”

“H-Huh?”

Olai shot him an annoyed look for not paying attention and Odin quickly fumbled to pull his notepad out of his inner jacket pocket. “Ah, y-yeah. I got it.”

“Good. It’s around this corner.”

They turned onto another street and there across the road was a small park lit only by one lone street lamp on the side of the road. At first it looked completely empty which would be logical given the early hours but then the figure seated upon the swing breathed out laboriously, a visible cloud of air leaving their lips.

Odin swallowed and gripped his notepad tighter. He could do this. First soul as a fully officiated Reaper. He went to step forward-

-only to be halted by Olai.

Odin gave his older brother a quizzical look as Olai held an arm out barring his path, his attention focused upon the figure across the road with a narrowed gaze and pursed lips.

“O-Olai?”

“…Wait here a second.”

“W-What? Why?”

“Only come over when I tell you to.”

Odin had no chance to say anything further before the taller boy was already crossing the road and entering the tiny park. The child on the swing meekly raised their head when he approached to reveal a young girls face, and even from this distance Odin could tell she was on the verge of death from the severity of the injuries on her body. Her time was up.

Olai reached out his hand to pull her soul from her body.

But then something went wrong.

A gust of warm heat swept past Odin, ruffling his hair and causing him to flinch in surprise. It flew across the street towards the pair, gaining momentum and power until it shoved Olai aside like he was a fly. The strong amount of energy took the form of something bright and enflamed that illuminated the entire park and Odin jumped as a hand came down on his shoulder from behind as Olai reappeared beside him.

“We have to get out of here.”

“O-Olai? W-What-“

“It’s a demon. A powerful one. We can’t do anything against one like that-" Olai was already turning around to leave.

Odin snapped his head back towards the demon and the girl, the latter of which was being enveloped within the flames of the former. It wasn’t unheard of for demons to make pacts with humans and claim ownership over their soul – they were vile things that were hated by his kind given they stole away souls that could otherwise add to a reapers quota.

“B-But the s-soul-“

“We’ll report it to headquarters. We’re going, Odin. **_Now._** ”

A piercing scream startled the both of them, its source originating from the park. Olai grabbed his wrist and yanked him forward, the world around them melting away as they teleported. A few moments later they were standing in a dark hallway, lanterns dotting the walls.

Odin was the first to speak.

“W-What will happen to the soul-“

“She made the deal. The demon has claim now.” Olai spoke as if he’d tasted something sour and began walking. Odin followed, but not before looking in his notebook.

“H-Her name is still in my b-book-" He cut off as he smacked into Olai’s back and taking a step away Odin peered up as his elder brother turned around with a frown, regarding his book.

“…She appeared in your book because her soul had entered its final moments before death. Making a deal doesn’t change that. A demon can’t reverse a souls lifespan.”

“B-But if she made a d-deal that means s-she’s probably not going to d-die soon-!”

“…If her name is still in your book then her soul has been frozen."

Five years on, and Odin was still bound to the human girl known as Ava Ire. Trust his first reaping to be his most difficult one. It didn’t help that Ava had always been rather adamant in refusing to divulge the contents of her deal – for all he knew, he could be stuck with her for another twenty years! 

The council had done reports and safe guards before finally announcing Odin was to continue supervising Ava as it was deemed safe. In that time six months had passed since Ava made a contract and she'd been watched over by several different senior reapers. When Odin first arrived to introduce himself, she hadn’t been very welcoming. In fact, she’d ignored him for the better part of two years before eventually speaking to him.

Humans were annoying.

Laying out on the bed with his arms folded behind his head, Odin frowned as he gazed up at the ceiling. He just needed to wait a little longer. Ava would eventually die. She was only human, they didn’t live that long even if waiting for her deal to end did feel like an eternity.

Sitting upright, he was just about to pull out his pipe when he caught sight of the broken mirror on the wall and paused. He’d teleported into Ava’s room a while ago but she was absent and with it being the summer holidays she could be anywhere. He didn’t really feel like searching for her even if it would only take a few minutes with his powers. She’d come back eventually.

But the smashed mirror - that was new. She had somewhat of a temper at times, had she broken it herself?

“Oof-!”

He turned his head as the door opened and Ava pratically fell into the room, several bags of heavy books in her hands which she promptly dropped to the floor with a relieved sigh. He couldn’t help but arch an eyebrow. “S-Since when d-did you study so much?”

She raised her head to look at him, expression instantly souring as she closed the door. “None of your business.”

He watched as she dragged the bags of books over to her desk, remaining silent for a moment before speaking. “What h-happened to your m-mirror?”

She tensed visibly at that, eyes snapping to the mirror in question before moving to him. “Nothing! I was just… I had an… accident,” she finished lamely, averting her gaze away from him and being overly suspicious.

…But he didn’t care enough to dig deeper so he just shrugged. He did, however, catch sight of one of the titles of the books she was reading in the bag. Demonology and Demon Exorcisms?

Before he could question her on that interesting observation, he felt a shift in presence regarding his notebook. Pulling it out, he stared at the new name that had appeared for only a moment before closing it and placing it away. Ava cast him a look before turning away, well used to him coming and going as he pleased. Neither of them offered a goodbye.

And then he was gone.

. - . - .

 

Ava was thankful when Odin left, able to sit freely at her desk pouring over all the books she’d checked out at the library – she’d got an odd look from the clerk when putting all the demon related books through. 

In the five years since she’d made a deal, she’d never once had any other form of contact with the demon. She’d tried researching before but had never been able to come up with anything. Even attempts of asking Odin and Olai had only resulted in them shrugging and saying they weren’t on familiar terms with demons. Reapers tended to go out of their way to avoid them really.

The only thing she had relating to the demonic pact was the keyhole shaped mark upon her chest. The addition of three clawed marks along her back was a new addition and despite a few weeks having passed the swollen marks didn’t seem to be healing at all. She’d hidden it from Odin but maybe she should ask him about it? She chewed her pencil thoughtfully as she considered it for a moment.

 Then again, he had no reason to help her out. He’d always been rather blunt in stating she’d made a deal and there was no way out of it and it was her fault. He wasn't her ally. She shook the thought away before it even had time to solidify properly.

“Bluh…” Ava rested her head atop her desk, sighing at the stress of it all. It was only after receiving the reminder of her deal painfully across her back that it was really sinking in that this wasn’t something she could pretend didn’t exist. The dull ache she now felt constantly didn't allow her to forget for even a second.

She had six months. Six months and then her life and soul were forfeit to a demon. She could physically feel the desperation now gnawing away at her as she sat back up straight and regarded the books before her. Biting her thumb anxiously, she examined the pages talking about demon exorcisms once more. If you exorcised the demon you’d made a pact with then it made sense that you’d be safe. But all of it seemed flaky and unreliable. Plus it wasn’t like she was possessed with the demon herself-

…or at least, she didn’t think so.

An unsettling feeling weighed down on her as she turned to look at her reflection in her cracked mirror. She’d never done anything out of character or had moments where she blacked out only to remember nothing later. At least, not since…

…

Ava frowned, feeling an uncomfortable weight on her shoulders. She’d sold her soul but she hadn’t consented to letting the demon use her body as a vessel or anything. That wouldn’t happen, right?

After a long moment of silent thought Ava jumped at the sound of an alert on her laptop which she’d also been using for research. Turning back towards it, she noted somebody had responded to her query about demonic exorcisms in the forum she’d been on. The teenager glanced at his username curiously.

“James47, huh.”

 

. - . - .

 

Odin observed the girl as she lay motionless on the ground staring ahead with vacant eyes, blood staining her hair as a puddle of red began to already form around her head.  Reaching out his hand, he grabbed a hold of her own which was still warm. When he pulled his hand away, a copy of the girls hand followed him in his grasp until she was standing beside him with a bewildered expression. Her standing figure was also miraculously blood-free.

Then she looked down and noted her body on the ground. Odin couldn’t help but wince as she let out a piercing scream – why did he always get the screamers?

“Nononononono, I can’t be dead!” the girl wailed, tugging at her hair, “I’m too young to die, I have a date tonight and he was really, really, cute!”

“Y-Yeah… I don’t think you’ll be m-making that.”

Her gaze shot towards him and with it her misplaced anger found a target. Great. “You!” she hissed, jabbing a finger into his chest, “put me back in my body right this instant!”

“I-I can’t do that.”

“What do you mean you can’t!?”

He sighed, rubbing his temples as he allowed her to get it all out of her system. If only she hadn’t been wearing such high heels, she wouldn’t have tripped and cracked her head against the railing on the way down. He gave her a few moments to let her anger out, watching as she knelt besides her body and attempted to touch her own cheek. When her hand simply phased through her dead form, her expression faltered, dropping her hand limply. Eventually Odin decided she'd had enough time.

“L-Look… if y-you just come with me, I c-can take you to move on.”

“Move on...?”

“Y-Yeah.”

The girl wiped her eyes discreetly with the sleeve of her dress before pushing herself to stand up. She turned to regard him evenly, lips pursed together. With her heels she was eye-to eye with him in terms of height.

“What’s your name?”

“O-Odin.”

She folded her arms, tapping one foot. “Well, ** _Odin,_** I don’t care who you are but I’m not moving on anywhere.”

“…Wh-What?”

“You heard me,” she spat, glaring at him as if he’d been the one to personally kill her, “I refuse to accept this!”

Oh God, it’d been a while since he had one of these.

“Y-You can’t just _not_ move on!” he cried impatiently, “y-you’re dead!”

“That is **_your_** opinion.”

He let out a strangled noise of frustration as she purposefully turned away from him with her head held high. He pulled out his list pleading - **_begging_ ** \- but it was too late, the large letters spelling out the name ‘Magnolia Lacivi’ upon his notepad had already shifted colour to green. It was official. She was classed as a ‘Dawdler’. These types of souls were nightmares to deal with. It wasn’t enough that he had the listed anomaly that was Ava Ire whose name had been burned into his book for years, now he had _this_ to deal with as well.

He hated being a Reaper.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun Tidbit: The username 'James47' is a reference to James 4:7 "Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you." Three guesses who it is. ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯


End file.
